KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the Centre and State governments to inform the court their views on the suggestion to constitute a committee for implementing the various schemes meant for the tribal people in Attappady.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Justice Anu Sivaraman issued the order on a petition filed by P D Joseph of Thrissur, seeking a directive to the State Government to ensure timely disbursement of the grants allotted by the Central and State governments to the tribal people.
The Bench stated that the Social Justice Department, Heal th and Family Welfare Department and the department for welfare of children and women could be brought under a single umbrella - in the form of a committee.
The court observed that effective implementation of the poverty alleviation scheme was absolutely necessary in the tribal areas. Protection of the rights of the tribal people is something for which there is no excuse. The Central and State governments should work out a scheme to identify the bottlenecks in the implementation of various schemes.
Meanwhile, Ottappalm Sub-collector P B Nooh in a report stated that no complaint had been received yet from any tribal patient or organisation of unethical/discriminatory administration of drugs on patients, pregnant women or adolescent girls in Attappady.
Mala-N is an oral contraceptive being distributed under the National Family Welfare Planning, through PHCs and other government institutions.